hamilton



i (No Model;) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. f J. E. HAMILTON v 3 UNDERGROUND SYSTEM OF LAYING ELEOTRIGAL CONDUGTORS. r No. 279,646. Patented June 19,1883.

To all whom it may cancer-n:

T UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICEO -JAMES E. HAMILTON,

oF NEW YORK, Nji?.

UNDERGROUND SYSTEM OF LAYING ELECTRICAL CONDUTORS.

.SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 279,646, dated June 19, 1883.

Application filed April 2 1883.

Be it known that I, JAMES E. HAMILTON, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Underground Systems of Layin g and XVorking Electrical Conductors in Cities, and in Switch Houses and XVells employed therein; and I do hereby declare that the following speeification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished and forming apart thereof, is a clear, true, and complete description of my invention.

By the practice of the main feature of my invention I of course seek toobviate the ob:

jectionable street wires', poles, fixtures, and

root-work incident to aerial'systems; and in that connection I can accomplish only what is possible under various prior underground tems. So far as my knowledge extends, all prior underground systems, as applied or proposed to p beapplied in cities, necessarily involve the extensive tearing upof streets or sidewalks, because the massed wires or wireways occupy positions beneath and lengthwise of the streets or sidewalks; but I have reduced 'the objectionable street-work to a minimum by providing for the planting of massed wires in such a manner that they need only occiipy positions beneath and crosswise of streets and sidewalks, thus in most cases enabling 'the laying of pipes for the reception of wires by tunneling beneath a streetway froni sidewalk to sidewalk, or from cellars on one side of the street to those on the opposite side. In other words, I traverse blocks or Squares with nassed wires at any proper depth, thus requi'ring only the crossing of streets latcrally, as distinguished from occupyng them longitudinally. For dise tributing connections within a block or square,

I radiate more or less of the massed wires from a central position in the block, and although that method of local distribution is not broadly new, it has only been proposed in connection with massed wires lying longtudinally with the streets and below the carriagepavenents or the sidewalks, and the wires for distribution within a block were diverted from the main mass of wires at adjacent street-intersections, and entered each block diagonally at one corner thereof, and, as compared with said prior systems, I am not only generally able to .ductors used.

(Ne model.)

wholly avoid' tearing up' the streets and sidewalks, but always avoid tearing theni up' lon gitudinally, and I am, in addition thereto, en-

abled to plant wires and wireways 'for a given area in a town or city at less cost in laying and with greater econoniy in. the length of con- This 'method ot' planting wires is thoroughly applicable to longdistance serv ice between renotc points-as, 'for instancc, in

passing directly through the whole or any part of a town or city-as well as forlocal distribution; and in all cases the line-wires are conveni ently accessible for variations, testing, and inspection by 'neans of switch h ouses and wells in each block, and I have devise'd a switch house and well to be centrally located in each block, wherein ample provisions have been made l'or convenient connection and disconneetion 'for through service, and also for local service on the same squareor block, and for arranging groumling-ci rcuits and indu cti ongrounds, an d also for the application ot' lightning-arresters; but it is to be understood that I am well aware that lightning-arresters have hereto'ore been applicd to underground conductors, and that provisions have heretotore been made ;for directly groundiug such conduetors, as well as for induction-grounds. Certain novel features involved in the internal arrangements ot' my said switch house and well are equall'y useful in connection with massed wires or wireways plantcd in streets, as heretofore, in which case said switch-well can be located at the iutersection ot' streets, or at other dcsirablc points therein, and covercd by a suitable plate provided with a Inan-hole and cover.

To more particularly describe my invention, I will ret'cr to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l. a plan or diagram illustrating several city squares or blocks, the adjacent streets, the wi''eways, switch-houses, and the local distribution ot' wires within several of the Squares. Fi 2 is a vertical central section of one of my novel switclrhouses and its well as arranged for location within a'square. Fig. 3 is a vertical central section of my switch -well as arranged tor location beneath a street or sidewalk. Fig. 4 is a transversc section ot' the wire-rack';

.In Fig. l have illustrated my system as applied to, say, twety-eight,squares ot' a city or town, and it will be seen. that' it is inimaterial how irreg'ularly the streets may have been laid out, or whether the squares be unit'orn in shape or size or the streets wide or narrow.

A city map being provided, plans are first deternined upon for running through or direct lines, reference being had to the shortest route between a hone station and a renote point in the suburbs, as well as to the width and general character ot' the thoroughtares erossing said routes-as, t'or instance, the sqnares Il. to 7, inclusive, at't'cn'd a direct route t'or the underground wireway A, eontai'ing massed wires, and the sane is true of squares 8 to 1.5, inclusive, traversed by the undere'round wireway 3, and a transverse direct rout'e t'or wireway is at't'orded through squares .1 S), 20, 4, 25, and 12; and each ot' these rout es may also be occupied by wireways and wires 't'or local distribution in each block thus traversed, and also by wires t'or extension to the squares on the one side or the other in any direction, as may be desired. It will thus be seen that the massed wires need never be planted in any street longitudinally therewith, and that wide streets can be generaily avoided. The wires, in the form ot' cables or otherwise properly insulated and massed, are contained within the wireways or pipes, sunken to depths whichcan bealmostindefinitely varie/d, according to the particular condition or lay of the ground occupied by each. square or the character ot'thc buildings thereon-as, forinstance, in some squares the cellars ot' the buildings would be ot' less depth than in others, and' in sone cases, by reason ot'covered ays and alleys, only eoniparatively shallow excavations would be required thei-ein, as well as at the interior unoceupied portions ot' the Squares. .Tn crossing streets the depth at which the wires are lz'idvaries to corr ,ondwith the depth requisite at the adjacent side oti' each of the adjaccnt Squares, and in most cases an excavation in each. sidewalk on opposite si des of a street will enable the laying ot' a pipe in sections by the use ot' an excavatilig-drill having a sectional sten and Operating horizontally, the pipe being' .t'oreed :toi-ward, section after section, froni the excava tion within which the drill operated. It will 'be obvious that when right ot' way can be secured in cellars the wi reway-pipe can be located at any desired level, either beneath asub-cellar 'floor or along a side wall. At whatever the depth the wi reways n'ay be .plant ed, they should be provided with water-tight joints 't'or obtaining the best results, and their internal dineusions will' be varied according' to whether they are limited-like those, for instance, at l), leading to and from. Squares 26, 27, and 28--to local service, or designed for combined local and in Squares l to 7, inclusive. The switeh-houses E, located nore orless ceutrally in each square,

through service, as at A.

nay be variously constructed 'in accordance with the main feature ot' my inventiou; but each is essentially provided with a water-fight well, into which the wireway-pi pes enter-one, two, three, or tour, as the ease nav1.c-with provisions 'tor water-tight ioints llhrouglr wires may be directly spliced at 'each switchhouse, it' desired, or connected by way ot' screw-posts, in a manuer well known. \\"ires for local distribution on the square are connected 'by screw-posts, and suspendcd t'ro the top ot' a pole rising fronthe switch-house and stretched to the particular prcnisestobe supplicd. The arrangeinent or system th'us t'ar described is novel, in that it involves the use ot' a novel conbination ot' wreway-welIs and underground wireways which underlie city blocks or squares and transversely underlie intervening streets or roat'tways in extending :t'ron block to block, and substantially said onbination and arrangenent constitutes the main feature of my inveution.

I` will next deseribe my novel switch house and well, as illustrated in Fig.

The welt F varies in depth accordingto circunstanees,-aud it inay be conposed ot' brick tightly cenented; but .I pret'er to co'strwt the sane of wrought or cast iron, with, suitalfle conpling oonnections, :sat (I, t'orthe rceeption ot' the euds I ot the wireway pipes A, and to provide for longitudinal contractim and expansion, and to obtain a water tight joint at said connections a gland and suitable packig maybe used to advantage. Tlebotton ot' the well should be considerably l ower than the level ot' theconnunicating wireways, and a prop erlytrapped draunpe should communicate with an adiaecnt sewer or dra-in to provide against accidental 'flowage ot' suilace-water. The bottom ot' the well is provided with a cen tral vertical base-block, e, ot" cast-i ron, and having radi al angular webs, the whole servi ng as a grounding-base, and it is vertically pert'orated tor the reception ofthe foot ot' the statt or pole (I, which maybe composed ot' wood or tubular iron, and preterably extended through the bottom ot' the well into the ground to secure a firm support. 'Upon the pole (I, extending' upward t'ron the iron base e, is a wire-raclc, c. having as many radial]y-proiecting wings e' as there are wire 'ay-pi.pcs, each wine; being' on the side ot' the pole adjacent to its particular wireway. These radial, wings are n1aintained in position by being connected to the pole by means ot' an upper and a lower 'ring' IOO IIO

or collar, 0 having radial arms e", to which to form each wing, two vertical. bars ot' suitable material, pret'erably wood saturated with paraftine, are securcd at top and bottom, as clearly indicated. The wire ,rack wings are each provided in a vertical row with a series ot' nates or eollars c' each havin a Jair ot' screw-posts. or equivalent coupling devices, and each series of plates or collars is .in proper connection with. a lightning' arrester, f, grounded at its base with or to the iron base c. n some cases a tower will be desirable for local distribution, in lieu of the pole.

The well F is surmounted by the switchhouse, G, preferably cylindrieal in form, and

provided with a suitable door. The pole d extends upward through the roof, and to provide against racking the switch-house from the inevitable swaying of the. pole, and for the passage of wires for local service, the aperture at q is considerably larger than the pole; For housing said aperture from the weather, a pendent hollow conical cap, 72 is firmly secured to the pole above the roof, and its lower edge eX- tends to near the surface of the roof, thus practically inclosing the aperture g. For properly leading the wires from the aperture g to the cross-bars at the top of the pole, a vertical cylindrical sleeve, g', is provided at said aperture, having its upper edge' extended considerably above the plane occupied by the lower edge of the cap h, thus enabling the wires to be drawn downwardly over the top of the sleeve to and beneath the edge of said cap, and thence directly upward, as clearly indicated in the drawing& From the top of the pole the wires are extended to the rear of such buildings in that block as are to be supplied.

It will be seen that any of the wires leading from either of the entering wireways may be coupled directly or by means of sWtch-cords or bridles through the wire-racks with wires in either of the other wireways, or, being properly insulated, they can, if desired, be directly spliced and occupy the bottom of the well. It Will also be seen that either of the light ning-arrestersf, with its collars or plates and screw-posts, is available for use by any or all of the wires in any two or more of the ways;` but I deem it preferable to enploy as many arresters as 'there are wireways. The constructi on amlarrangeinent of the lightning-arresters can obviously be widely varied without materially affecting the desired results.

It is obvious that the radial wire-rack af fords convenient access to all of the wires connected thereby, and that changes .i n connection ean be readily made, and that testi ng from block to block can readily be accomplished. The groundin g of any of the wires is coweniently made at the screw-posts in the base to which the lightning-arresters are electrically connect. ed. l`n the use of that class of cables requiring inluction-grounds their foil-jackets are electrically connected with the grounding-posts The eonductors for all Varieties of electrieal apparatus known to me can be properly distributed and arranged for service with grounded' or metallie circuits, as required, by means of the underground wireways, switch-houses, and wellsdescribed. The original introduction of wires and cables into the wireways can be effected by means of draft wires or cords initially laid therein during the planting of the wireways, although in many cases cables propjoints in the wireways.

'streetway or sidewalk.

erly tipped at their ends can be' forced longitudinally from one well to the next, care having been. taken to provide for snooth internal Through-cables of very eonsiderable length can be laid without splicing at the switch wells, if desired, if the draft lines or wires at each well are used on the one cable, thus enabling any requisite number of men to be simultaneously employed in depositing a long cable in the wireways. Cables having induction-conductors or foiljackets, when once properly located in thewireways, can have said jackets grounded at each well, thus enabling the foil-jacl ets to perform thei r maximum service.

In Fig. 3 the well is aranged for use without the elevated distributing-pole beneath a For this service the well should be of sufficient depth to enablethe location of the top ofthe wire-rack below the cap-pl ate 7.2 and the grounding-bloek is of less height than in the pi-eviously-described well, and when the well has a non-metallic bottom said grounding-base should have a central tubular or solid spindle extending through the bottom of the well into the earth below, as clearly indi cated in Fig. 2. 4

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent- 1. The e combination, substantially as herein before described, of a series of wireway-wells and switch houses eentrally located in city blocks or squares, and a system or series of undergrounnd wireways traversing said blocks or Squares, communicating with and radi ating from said wells, and transversely underlying intervening streets or roadways in extending from block to block, as set forth.

2. The combin ation ,with undergroun d wireways, of a switch-house, well, radial wire-rack, pole, and metal base, substantially as deseribed.

3. The combination ,with underground wireways, a well with whichsaid wireways eonmunieate, a wire-raek for switching and for coupling the conducting-wires from one wireway with those of another, and alightning-arrester available to all or any portion of the conducting-wires from either or all of the wireways, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the switch-house, the pole rising eentrally there'from, and the pendent cap mounted on said pole, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the underground wireways, of a well, a wire-rack for coupling and switching, and a metal base-block serving as a support for the wire-rack, and also as a grounding-base, substantially as described.

lVitnesses C. H. MAOHIN, C. E. HAMILTON.

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